2001 Florida Code
TITLE XXXIII Regulation Of Trade, Commerce, Investments, And Solicitations
Chapter 495 Registration Of Trademarks And Service Marks  
495.101   Cancellation.

495.101  Cancellation.--The Department of State shall cancel from the register:

(1)  After 1 year from the effective date of this chapter, all registrations under prior laws which are more than 10 years old and not renewed in accordance with this chapter.

(2)  Any registration concerning which the Department of State shall receive a voluntary request for cancellation thereof from the registrant.

(3)  All registrations granted under this chapter and not renewed in accordance with the provisions hereof.

(4)  Any registration concerning which a court of competent jurisdiction shall find that:

(a)  The registered mark has been abandoned. A mark shall be deemed to be "abandoned" when either of the following occurs:

1.  When its use has been discontinued with intent not to resume such use. Intent not to resume may be inferred from circumstances. Nonuse for 2 consecutive years shall be prima facie evidence of abandonment.

2.  When any course of conduct of the owner, including acts of omission as well as commission, causes the mark to become the generic name for the goods or services on or in connection with which it is used, or otherwise to lose its significance as a mark. Purchaser motivation shall not be a test for determining abandonment under this paragraph.

(b)  The registrant of a trademark or service mark is not the owner of the mark.

(c)  The registration was granted improperly.

(d)  The registration was obtained fraudulently.

(e)  The registered mark is so similar, as to be likely to cause confusion or mistake or to deceive, to a mark registered by another person in the United States Patent Office, prior to the date of the filing of the application for registration by the registrant hereunder, and not abandoned; provided, however, that should the registrant prove that she or he is the owner of a concurrent registration of her or his mark in the United States Patent Office covering an area including this state, the registration hereunder shall not be canceled.

(f)  In the case of a certification mark, that the registrant does not control or is not able to exercise control over the use of such mark; or engages in the production or marketing of any goods or services to which the certification mark is applied; or permits the use of the certification mark for purposes other than to certify; or discriminately refused to certify or to continue to certify the goods or services of any person who maintains the standards or conditions which such mark certifies.

(5)  When a court of competent jurisdiction shall order cancellation of a registration on any ground.

History.--s. 1, ch. 67-58; ss. 10, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 6, ch. 90-222; s. 555, ch. 97-103.